Up Above the World

The first 100 pages of Up Above The World follows the travelings of Taylor and Day two Americans very reminiscent of Port and Kit of Sheltering Sky. In the last 150 pages after meeting a strange couple Taylor and Day are no longer in control of their lives but prisoners of the strange couple. Exactly how this imprisoning takes place and for what reasons only become clear in the very last pages. Only a minimal plot description can be given as the pleasure is in finding things out in the order they are meant to be found out. Having been a longtime fan of Sheltering Sky and all of his stories I hesitated reading any of his other novels as I heard they were not as good as his first. But reading this I find I am reminded not so much of the eerie and desolate majesty of Sheltering Sky which is a far better novel but of Bowles short stories, especially the ones which take place in South America as this novel does. This is not Sheltering Sky caliber fiction but it is a very competent novel and will appeal to those who admire Bowles very modern and often horrific short stories full of deviant psychologies and drugs and all sorts of sordid and often primitive "truths" about human nature. The novel reads like an extended short story really. Occasional details peculiar for being so precise stand out as always in Bowles writing. He describes the sound a cricket makes as coming from the back of its black throat. The Bowles vision is as bleak a vision as exists in serious modern fiction but it is immensely appealing as gothic things often are. I doubt many people really feel the world is as Bowles describes it. He grasps at only one side of human nature, the side the sun never reaches. Not a place you want to live but an intriguing place to travel through.

Bowles' work is not for the squeamish or the weak-minded. He knew that. He wrote for those of us capable of understanding and accepting the base nature of man and dealing with it in an intellectual capacity. This is a great work of literature for those intelligent enough, tough enough and honest enough to comprehend the big picture. The ideas may be harsh, but the storytelling is so eloquent and the conjuring of imagery creates such beautiful pictures in the mind amongst the psychological and physical carnage that it demands to be read. This is a GREAT work. It takes a Graham Greene vibe and extrapolates it in an admirably frightening way. READ THIS BOOK! Paul Bowles is one of the five greatest writers of the 20th century. Read him.

This well-plotted novel is so much more than it seems. It doesn't take long to get right into the story with its moody pockets, hallucinatory scenes and beautiful people who are duplicitious at best. Each character is out for more and deserves less in this brilliantly written, Central American caper. To devour Bowles' obsession with landscape as description highlighted with his self-centered characters use of illicit drugs and wild sex is more tantilizing than being an active participant. Although I am a major Bowles groupie, I must say this is my favorite of his novels. I'm just sorry more people have not read it. He is a true genius in the old school of fiction writing where the reader can really think about the peculiar actions of the characters which lead to the next plot twist. If I weren't afraid of airplanes, I would fly to Tangier and serve him some mint tea. I hope he is comfortable during this period of his life in Tangier.I read that he is not feeling well.

Also try Sheltering Sky by the same author.

Pay attention, because this story sneaks up on you. Details, details, details -- subtlety at its best. Like other Bowles stories, this one requires reflection upon completion to truly appreciate. The ending may leave you slightly unnerved and uncomfortable, but then, that's one of Bowles' signatures....